Top-seed Ridge drops back-and-forth affair to Westfield, 9-6, in North 2, Group 4 final

by Nick Hart

Westfield may have only scored runs in two innings, but it was runs in bunches for the Blue Devils, who used a five-run second inning and a four-run fifth to take down top-seeded Ridge, 9-6, in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 final Thursday in Basking Ridge.  

After a quick top half of the first inning, it seemed as though Ridge would do as it did all season long throughout this one, rely on the pitching to shut down the opposition. 

The momentum from the top half of the first quickly shifted to offensive momentum for the Red Devils, who got their first two runners of the frame on via a pair of walks. After a flyout and yet another walk, Ridge loaded the bases looking to break the game open early. 

Casey Kucerka was next to bat and roped a line drive right at the second baseman, who threw the ball to first, looking for the inning-ending double play, but threw it up the line, allowing Kieran Callanan to score the game’s first run.

Despite conceding a run in the previous inning, the Blue Devils answered back in a big way in the top of the second.  Westfield sent nine batters to the plate, with six reaching base safely on a mix of walks, hit-by-pitches and some timely hitting. 

Four different players recorded an RBI in the inning for the Blue Devils, punctuated by a two-out 2-RBI single off the bat of Jake Alfano, to take a 5-2 lead. 

But once again, walks hurt Westfield, as Matt Bober worked a full count base on balls with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to bring the top of the order for the Red Devils. 

Callanan got himself ahead in the count and ripped an RBI double into the outfield to cut into the lead, but was later thrown out at third trying to advance on a wild pitch to end the inning. 

Kucerka came on in relief of Lucas Liston in the top of the third and retired the side in order to send his team back up to the plate. 

It was again the free passes that Ridge took advantage of in the bottom of the third as Jake Dolan worked a walk and later stole second. With a runner on second to start the inning, the Red Devils did not even need to record a hit to bring the runner home, scoring him on back-to-back groundouts. 

After another clean inning from Kucerka, including two punchouts, Ridge found themselves in striking distance, down 5-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. 

The Red Devils were able to get traffic on the basepaths yet again with a pair of singles. After a fielder’s choice and a strikeout, Ridge needed some two-out magic to take the lead. 

With the top of the order back up, Callanan poked an RBI double to cut the deficit to 1 run. That brought up Dolan, who mashed a 2-RBI triple into the outfield to cap off a 4-run inning to take the lead heading into the back half of the game. 

Kucerka worked himself into some trouble in the top of the fifth inning, loading the bases with a hit-by-pitch and a pair of walks that ultimately ended his outing. 

Dolan was the next pitcher out of the bullpen, with a tall task ahead of him: work out of a bases-loaded jam with the heart of the Blue Devils’ lineup coming up. 

Pete Cabrales was the first to greet Dolan and hit an infield single to push across a run and tie the game at 6-6. 

Dolan struck out the next batter he faced as he looked to limit the damage but Westfield had other ideas. The next three batters each reached base, with RBI singles from Aaron Ives and Andrew Digregorio and an RBI walk by Anthony Bulger to cap off a 4-run inning, which gave the Blue Devils a 9-6 lead. 

Despite stepping on the mound in the fourth inning and giving up 3 runs, James Statler settled in for Westfield and completely shut down Ridge’s offense in the final stretch of the game. 

From the fifth inning on, Statler surrendered just two base runners, one a walk and one a single, while striking out four batters on his way to the victory. 

On the other hand, the pitching that was so reliable for the Red Devils all year had a tough go of things. As a group, the pitching staff gave up 9 runs on six hits, four walks and four hit-by-pitches in the sectional final game.     

The loss leaves Ridge 20-7, with one more game scheduled to end the season Friday against New Providence.

Click below for postgame reaction from Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart: